AZ Briefing: Environmental concerns halt proposed highway

eNewspaper | Crosswords | Horoscopes

AZ Briefing

YOUR MORNING NEWS ROUNDUP

Thu Jan 23 2025

Lorenzino Estrada | Digital Producer

Good morning, Arizona. Here’s what our reporters are working on and what you should know about what’s happening across the state before you start your day.

Federal and state transportation agencies will halt planning activities for a proposed 280-mile highway between Nogales and Wickenburg.

More on the lawsuit brought by conservationists and the proposed I-11 highway that will connect to Las Vegas.

This Arizona national park is a top road trip destination

Petrified Forest National Park offers hiking trails, museums, ancient ruins and an otherworldly landscape.

Provided by National Park Service

The breathtaking Petrified Forest and Painted Desert are uniquely Arizona road trip destinations. Here’s why it’s worth the drive and what to see along the way.

If you like our work, please consider becoming a subscriber.

Today in history

Here are just some of the events on this date in the past.

•	On this day in 1849: Despite fierce opposition from her fellow students, Elizabeth Blackwell was awarded a medical degree by the Geneva Medical College in Geneva, New York, becoming the first woman in the U.S. to receive such a degree and become the first female physician.
•	In 1941: Famed aviator Charles Lindbergh stood before the U.S. Congress and urged the U.S. to negotiate a neutrality pact with Nazi German dictator Adolf Hitler.
•	In 1964: The 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which prohibited both Congress and any of the states from imposing a poll tax or any other tax to vote in federal elections, was ratified.
•	In 1977: The TV miniseries “Roots,” an adaptation of Alex Haley’s bestselling novel that chronicled a family through its roots in Africa and the Civil War, premiered. A groundbreaking program consisting of eight episodes, “Roots” became one of the most popular shows in the history of American television and a major moment in America’s reckoning with slavery.
•	In 1986: The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, then in its third year, inducted its first members, some of whom were considered the founders of rock: Little Richard, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Fats Domino, The Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley.
•	In 1997: Madeleine Albright, who had earlier served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, became the first woman to serve as U.S. Secretary of State after she was sworn in by then-Vice President Al Gore at the White House.
•	In 2005: TV host and comedic legend Johnny Carson, best known for hosting NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson,” died of respiratory failure due to complications from emphysema at age 79 in Los Angeles.
•	In 2021: Talk-show host Larry King, who hosted CNN’s widely popular “Larry King Live,” died at age 87 of a sepsis infection.